


Behind Red Eyes

by KasperAura



Category: Forever (TV)
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Some Flashbacks, Student/Teacher Friendship, actiony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2018-03-16 16:53:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3495821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KasperAura/pseuds/KasperAura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One night, Henry stumbles upon a girl who at first seems innocent enough, but he'll soon discover how big of a threat she actually poses. Her intentions are to only cause him pain, no matter what form it comes in.<br/>Part two of the "Forever Z" series, a crossover between Dragon Ball and Forever with only Forever characters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks again to cytoplasmridiculum for her help on this.

The freezing rain was coming down hard, and it wasn't bound to stop any time soon. It turned the accumulated snow on the ground to solid ice. It made walking along the cracked sidewalks of the city a hazard. No one would be out walking late at night, especially given that the weather was supposed to turn worse as the night went on.

However, in a city of nine million people, some stragglers would still be out walking. Some were headed home after a long day of work, others were headed out to join their friends and pour back beers, exchanging stories of days past.

One girl in particular was on her way to a bar, but not to drink herself into a coma. She stifled a shiver, pulling her dark grey jacket over her face as to keep herself warm. She was thankful for the hood that protected her from the frozen shards falling from the sky. The girl was also thankful for the dark pants she wore, which were meant for this type of weather. As she walked along the sidewalk, her black dress boots hit the puddles hard, spraying dirty water in all directions.

As she approached her destination, she looked into the window, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets. She saw the man sitting in a corner table alone, his head kept low. She walked up to the cold door and gave it a push to open it.

Aside from a couple people sitting at the bar, the place was rather quiet for a Saturday night. Maybe it was the weather. It was probably making people stay home and keep warm by the fire. 

She removed her hood, her dark brown hair falling around down her shoulders. She paced casually over to the man, coming to a halt in front of the table. The man then gestured with a gloved hand towards the seat. She shifted onto the seat, crossing one leg over the other, looking particularly bored.

"If you of all people want to talk to me," She began with a rough voice, "Then it must be something serious."

The man across from her stifled a chuckle. He pulled his hat down more, as if he was hiding his identity. "How could you tell?" He simply asked.

The girl scoffed. "Well...we are the same..." She spoke as if it were obvious. "So what do you call yourself nowadays?" She sniffed. This man had all kinds of names. It was confusing. She had known the man for so long, and he had changed his name at least three times. She understood having to protect your identity for so long, but why not stick to just a few?

The man smiled. “I know I had you call me something else in the past, but I go by Adam now.”

The girl sneered. “Terribly cliche, if you ask me.” She uncrossed her legs. “So, what do you want?”

Adam didn't speak, but rather, he placed a hand on the table, and then, with a nod, gestured over to the bar.

There sat a rather interesting man. He looked out of place with his dark grey monochrome suit, which had small darker spots here and there from where the rain had soaked into the jacket. He reached up and ran a hand through his curly hair, deep in thought. He grabbed the small glass on the bar and took a sip of it. He seemed to go back into his thoughts as he placed the cup back down.

The girl looked back to the man, a disbelieving eyebrow raised. "Him?" She whispered. 

"Yes." The immortal nodded. "He is like you and I."

The girl leaned forward and shifted her eyes to look back at the man in front of her. "How many years are we talking?" She raised an eyebrow, suddenly interested.

"More than you." Adam answered calmly. "Not counting the years before, two hundred."

The girl hummed in thought. She placed both elbows on the worn table, interlocking her hands and placing them in front of her face. "So you want me to see if he can control...it, eh?" She questioned, smirking.

"He can." Adam answered. "I already forced him to."

"Via?" She cocked her head to the side.

"Desperation." Adam spoke again, keeping his voice low. He leaned back in the chair. "He has both offensive and defensive powers.”

The girl perked up at that, raising an eyebrow. "It has healing properties?" She was hooked now. When the man nodded in response, she sat back, containing a laugh. "So you want me to fight him? Test him?”

"He won't fight under normal circumstances." He responded, the tone in his voice making it sound like a problem. "He only fights when he's protecting someone."

The girl sat back in the chair once again, contemplating her actions. She had one more question on her mind. “Well...if I’m going to ‘befriend’ to him, I might as well know his name.” She asked rudely, sniffing.

Adam gave a half smile. “It’s less inconspicuous if you don’t use his name.” When the girl gave him a glare, signifying that she wanted to know, he relented. “But his name is Henry.”

The girl gave a satisfied smirk. Slipping out of the chair, she stood up, stretching. The look on her face said that she had a plan. "You can leave now. I got this." She simply said. 

Turning around, she walked calmly over to the bar, sitting down in the right chair next to the man, who cast a quick glance at her, nodding a hello. As she nodded back, the bartender came up to her.

"What'll it be?" He asked kindly. He was keeping his hands busy by drying a glass.

"Do you carry Bailey's?" She asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man named Henry look towards her in mild interest.

"Straight?" The bartender asked. When the girl gave a nod, he went to fill her order.

The man next to her gave a chuckle. "Bailey's? As in the Irish cream whiskey?" He spoke in a rich British accent, which slightly surprised the girl. "What's the occasion?"

The girl gave an honest smile, turning to look at him. "I just finished my parole a week ago." She lied on the spot. "I figured I'd come and celebrate."

Henry gave a nod and a smile, humming in acknowledgement. "I say a glass of cognac is the way to go." He said, smiling, as he held up the glass to show her.

"Yes, well..." She was cut off when the bartender came back with a glass of the cream alcohol, setting it on the counter. She paid him, adding a polite thank you. She brought the cup up to her lips, savoring the slight burning feeling of alcohol against her throat. "...I never did like scotch or anything in that family. Always tasted like rubbing alcohol to me." She looked over to the doctor, who raised his glass as well, seemingly satisfied with his drink.

Both of them sat in silence for a few more minutes. Once in a while, each of them would cast a glance at each other, as if they didn't trust the person next to him. Then, the girl broke the ice.

"The weather is particularly nasty for winter." She looked over to him again. "What's a good looking man like you doing at some dingy bar?" She gave a smile, which caused Henry to give a shallow laugh.

"Well..." His smile faded, and a pained look entered his eyes. "Bad memories, I suppose." He took another sip of the drink, letting out a pleasant sigh as he placed it back down onto the wooden table.

"I'm assuming you don't want to talk about it." She said as a statement, putting on a sympathetic look. The doctor simply shook his head.

The silence filled the room again, until the girl finished her drink, setting back down the glass. She turned to the right, standing up and stretching her stiff limbs. She was about to walk away, until she leaned close to the man.

"If you want to know more about aura, meet me outside." She whispered mysteriously, leaning away. Henry looked up in surprise, and as he turned to look at her, she was already out the door.

\--------------

A few minutes later found the doctor walking out the door, looking left and right. When he looked to the left, he saw the girl, standing against the wall next to an alleyway. She was leaning back against the wall with her arms crossed and her hood pulled down. The rain wouldn't disturb them too much, for they were under the shelter of the overhang of the low roof.

Henry approached her. "How do you know about auras?" He questioned, not sure what emotion to feel at the moment.  
The girl pushed off of the wall, facing him. "What's the only way I could know, doctor?" She spoke, and the man became all the more surprised as she mentioned him being a doctor. 

"You're..." He squinted his eyes at her. He wasn't sure if he was thinking right.

The next part the girl said was in Japanese. "Immortal? Yes doctor, I am like you."

 _Ah, so she changed the language in order to protect the secret._ "How long?" The doctor answered back in Japanese.

The girl hummed in thought. "Twenty years?" She responded, dropping the Japanese and going back to English. "Although you have lived more."

The man blinked in confusion, but the girl continued before he could comment. "Oh, and I know who you are, too. The papers tend to speak about you and the detectives." She walked around to his backside. "The fair, grand and secret hiding..." She leaned in close, smirking, "Henry Morgan."

Henry turned around to face her, clear shock evident on his face, which caused the girl to laugh.

"Don't fret, doctor." She smirked. "I won't expose our little...condition." As she said this, Henry seemed to relax a bit, but she continued onwards. "I do, however, have quite an interest in your aura." 

The gears started working in the doctor's head at that sentence. _This girl...she must be a master of aura if she knows I have one!_ He thought to himself. _But that can’t be. She’s only twenty years in._

If it had taken himself this long to find and unlock the aura, she certainly couldn't have...could she?

Quickly, he whipped up a question to test the truth.. "Why mine?' He asked, unsure how to proceed. 

The girl gave a smirk. She walked around him in a circle slowly, looking him over. She seemed to be focusing on something he couldn't quite see. 

"Because your aura is quite peculiar, doctor." She continued, coming to a halt in front of him. "Aura is brought out by a strong feeling of rage." She squinted her eyes. "What I want to know is why yours is brought out by desperation."

Once again, she left Henry speechless. Although he did want to know the secret to that as well, but the way she spoke made it seem like there were different aura types. And why was his so special? There were too many questions to be asked. He opened his mouth as to ask one of those questions, but before he could, the girl stuck out her hand.

"I think we're going to become good friends." She gave a small smile. 

Henry gave her another look before he met her hand, giving a firm and slightly strange handshake. "Your name?" He asked, trying to mask his curiosity. 

The girl gave a smirk. "Mira. Just call me Mira." She removed her hand from his. "I know you have many questions, doctor, but trust me. In due time, you'll answer them for yourself." As she turned to walk away, Henry placed a hand on her shoulder automatically. He hadn't realized his curiosity had gotten the best of him until she turned around and looked him right in the eyes. That's when he realized that she had red eyes. She was wearing colored contacts to look more menacing, and by god, it was certainly working.

"If you'll permit me one question," He found the right words after a few seconds, "How do you know about aura?"

Mira raised an eyebrow. "I'm like you. I've already said that." She shrugged. "But I know what you really want answered." She raised her hand up. "What is aura?" As Henry seemed to gain interest, she laughed, shaking her head.

"I would not tell you that." Her expression dropped. "I want to let you figure it out for yourself. You're smart."

The two stood silent for a few more seconds, each thinking of what to say. Mira found the right words first.

"But I will say this." She paused, which drew in the doctor's attention. "Aura is controllable. You're just not trying hard enough." Before Henry could draw back, she placed a finger on his upper chest, right above his heart. "It rejects you, and you reject it.” She spoke quietly, almost solemnly. “You reject it because you're frightened of it." Mira drew back, knowing she was right

"There's no reason to be scared of it," She pressed onwards. "The first time out of the gate it's harsh, yes, but you learn to accept it." She closed her eyes. "That familiar, warm feeling in your chest grows to form your aura. It stems from many emotions."

Her expression changed to one of surprise when Henry shook his head. "Never." He answered back. "I will study it, yes. But never again do I want to feel like that." The feeling that your anger has gotten the best of you. The sheer raw hatred towards the person you want to kill in every single way humanly possible. The emotions all conflicted with each other, and it hurt.

But, worst of all, it was desperation that his aura was powered by. That feeling in your gut that you're helpless to do anything as you stand by and watch, and you just want it to... _end._ That agony that hits you in the heart was only fuel for the fire.

"There's no reason to be scared of it." Mira broke his thoughts as she placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "I was fearful of mine, too." She looked him dead in the eyes, burning red meeting wary brown. "But I learned to control it." She took a step back. "You can too."

"How?" The words escaped the doctor before he could think.

Mira gave a shallow laugh. "What am I, your teacher?" She scoffed, raising her arms up as she shrugged. "Dear doctor, that's for you to find out." She gripped her hood, throwing it back over her head. As she walked away, leaving him befuddled in her wake, she mentally added to that sentence. 

_And for me to enjoy._


	2. The Burn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I thank cytoplasmridiculum for her help on this. I also want to thank my friend, Akito, for beta-reading this.

Last time on Forever Z...

Mira gave a shallow laugh. "What am I, your teacher?" She scoffed, raising her arms up as she shrugged. "Dear doctor, that's for you to find out." She gripped her hood, throwing it back over her head. As she walked away, leaving him befuddled in her wake, she mentally added to that sentence. 

_And for me to enjoy._

\-------------------

_Running. All he ever did was run. But now, it was a matter of life and death._

_He cast a glance behind him, gasping in surprise. He turned his head back around, and then a wave of pain hit him as he collided with the solid wall of the one-way alley._

_He turned around now to face his female pursuer. He swallowed hard, not caring to mask his fear._

_“Please...” He begged, almost to tears. “I did what you asked.”_

_She simply continued to stare at him, until she blinked slowly. She seemed not to care about him in any way, shape or form._

_“Did what I asked? You didn’t accomplish anything.” She hissed through clenched teeth. “I rather think that deserves a punishment.” A crooked smile found its way onto her face._

_“Please...” He begged once more. “Let me live.”_

_The girl merely scoffed. “The world’s better off without a backstabber like you.” Quickly, she grabbed him by the shoulder, pinning him to the wall. She felt the familiar warmness rise up in her chest and flood to her hand. She pressed her hand against his heart center, and the man could only yell in agony at the white-hot burning sensation against his heart. He tried to reach forward, but her other hand found its way to his right arm, burning it as well. His throat clenched with tears as he drew in his final breath, letting the blackness of unconsciousness overtake him._

\-------------------

Henry stifled a shiver as he finished writing down his thoughts in his journal. His laboratory had become colder over the last few days. Maybe it had to do with the seemingly ceaseless snow.

He sighed, casting his eyes back to the journal. He had actually broken out one of the journals that were empty solely for aura studies. He had already filled up three pages with information about what it can and cannot do, and even predictions on it, such as the consequences of using it.

He placed the ink pen gently back down onto the table. As he was about to stand up and pace once again, he heard a distant rumble coming from the outside. Jarred from his thoughts, he cast his gaze out the basement window, noting that it was both snowing and raining heavily.

_Thundersnow_...he thought to himself. _How interesting._ Thundersnow was rare around the city, but when it did happen, it was an exciting experience. However, down in his lab, alongside the gentle flakes and not-so-gentle rain, it was calming.

If he were any more deeper into his own thoughts, he wouldn't have heard the gentle footsteps behind him. He didn’t have to look back to know who it was.

"An ancient civilization used to say..." He began, breaking into his lecturing voice, "That rain and snow at the same time is a bad omen." He stood up out of the chair, turning around to face his son, noticing the concern on his face.

“Henry, you’ve been down here for almost two days now,” Abe lectured. “You need to get out more and smell the roses, or enjoy this nice weather.” 

Henry drew in a breath, letting it out as a sigh. “I understand your concern, but this is...fascinating to me!” He gestured to the air. “From what Mira told me-”

“Mira?” Abe repeated, raising an eyebrow. “You never mentioned him.”

_“Her.”_ He corrected. “I saw her when I went out for a drink the other night.” He turned around to face his desk. “She told me that she too was immortal. I’m unsure if she’s telling the truth, though.”

“Is she good-looking?” Abe chuckled, trying to bring his father’s mind off of the studies.

Henry smiled wryly. Only Abe. “She appears to be quite young, actually. Not a teenager, though.” He cast his eyes up to the roof, trying to recall what she looked like. “She wore dark clothes. Her eyes, however, were startling. Mira wore red contacts.”

“Woah. What kind of girl are you getting yourself involved with? One of the rebel types?” Abe said, half-joking. Henry still noticed a hint of concern on his face.

“To be honest, I don’t quite trust her. Yet, I feel there is so much I can learn from her.” Henry sighed as he sat back down into his chair, leaning back in it. He closed his eyes. “If she is being truthful, that is.”

“Sounds almost like another Adam situation.” Abe said, as he sat in a fine oak chair next to his father.

“I’m not sure how to feel about either of them.” Henry pondered, opening his eyes. “Now that I think of it, he has been oddly quiet since Luc-.”

Henry’s throat tightened as he painfully recalled Lucas’ battered body from that day. “...since the incident.” He finished quietly. He didn’t want to muse on that too much. He cast his eyes up at the window as another distant rumble echoed from the sky.

“Hey, look,” Abe began. His father wasn’t looking at him, but he knew he was listening.. “The kid’ll be fine. I’m more worried about you. I don’t want a repeat of last time.” He raised an eyebrow at his father.

Henry drew in a deep breath. He knew what his son was referring to. Staying down in his lab all day practicing his skills on mere rats for three weeks. But he had a reason to be. Of course, it wasn’t mentally healthy for him to have been in the same room where he had stabbed a man, thinking he was immortal, but he had no other place to practice. He had only faked his happiness to reassure people, but it got him nowhere.

Just as Henry was about to respond, he was cut off by the shrill ringing of the phone. Raising an eyebrow, he stood up, walking over to the contraption, pulling it off the hook. He drew it up to his ear, answering with a polite greeting.

“Hey Henry,” The familiar voice of Detective Martinez greeted back.

“Detective.” Henry nodded over the phone, even though she couldn’t see him do so.

“We found a body in an alleyway on the Lower East Side, fairly close to where you are. I know it’s your day off, but Lucas has requested you.”

Henry’s brow furrowed. “Me?” He asked, interested now. 

“Yeah. He said it would be something you could solve.” She answered back.

Henry turned back around to Abe, placing the phone onto his chest. As he opened his mouth to ask him about stepping out, Abe waved him off.

“No, go. Go save the world.” He grinned. If he couldn’t get his father out of the house, a murder sure would.

With that, Henry put on one of his famous half smiles. He turned around, placing the phone back to his ear. “I’m on my way.”

\-------------------

The snow had completely turned into a heavy downpour by the time that Henry arrived at the crime scene. It made everything messier. If there were any blood stains, they would be washed away.

He walked under the yellow crime tape and into the dirty alleyway. He cast his gaze on the body, interested in what he was seeing. It was laying flat on its back, glossy eyes staring up into the dark sky. 

“‘Bout time you got here, Doc.” Hanson commented, crossing his arms. “Lucas thinks you’d like this case.”

“Uh, I actually called him because I have no idea what happened.” Lucas admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

Henry raised an eyebrow at that statement. Lately, Lucas had been getting better at the powers of deducting how someone had perished. Him saying he had no idea slightly concerned him.

Casting his gaze back to the body, he crouched down next to it, and what he saw only baffled him further.

There was no visible puncture wound anywhere on the body, as far as he could see. However, the front of his shirt, where his heart would be, appeared to be completely singed off, exposing the burnt flesh underneath. A less noticeable burn also seemed to be on his right arm, below the wrist. In all, it was gruesome to see.

“The cause of death is probably that wound on his chest,” Lucas started back up, crouching next to him, "Roll up his sleeve.” He said, pointing to victim’s right arm. 

Henry reached for the limp arm, raising it up. As he pulled the sleeve back, he blinked in confusion. There were first degree burns present on his arm, but the burn was in an odd shape.

“Is that...” He began, unsure if he was seeing correctly. “The way the shape of the burn is makes it seem as if it was a hand that burned him.” He rocked back on his heels. He gripped his own arm in the way that the burn was to prove his point. “No... _exactly_ like a handprint.” He placed the arm back down, casting his glance back towards the two detectives, just as Hanson broke the ice.

“See? I told you he’d like the case.” He spoke in his typical fashion, which led Henry to raise an eyebrow at him. As he opened his mouth to follow up with a comment, Lucas chimed in.

“Hey, he’s got this weird burn on his left wrist.” He held up the arm to show Henry, which led him to give it a closer look. The burn was in the shape of a circle, but one point of the circle was larger than the other. A thin, red line also ran around his arm.

“He was most likely wearing a bracelet at the time, so the charm on it left a mark when it was burned.” Henry commented. Standing up, he began to scour the dirty alleyway for something that looked remotely similar to the burn. A few feet away from the victim, there was a badly torn piece of thin rope that was partially concealed under a dumpster. Henry reached out for it, gently pulling it back. The charm was still attached to it and, after rubbing it with his thumb, it turned out to be was he was looking for.

It wasn’t what he was expecting though. It appeared that the charm was a circle, but it was also a snake. A snake eating its own tail. 

“Detectives,” He began, standing up, “Have you ever seen something like this before?” He held it gently between his thumb and pointer finger, holding it out to show them. After a few seconds, Jo was the first to speak.

“Is that...” She squinted her eyes, thinking that she recognized it from a case they had a few months ago. Henry nodded, which confirmed her thoughts.

“An ouroboros, or a snake eating its own tail.” Henry began, half-lecturing. “Our victim was most likely obsessed with the idea of eternal rebirth, so he ended up wearing it for good luck.” He handed Lucas the bracelet and charm to bag it for evidence.

“Yeah, well, it looks like his luck ran out.” Hanson commented quietly, crossing his arms.

\-------------------

"Wow...”

Henry stifled a sigh, lowering his head. "Lucas, I understand." He spoke in an annoyed tone. That was the third time his assistant had said something like that.

"But it is!" Lucas answered back. "I've never seen anything like this!"

"Yes, and neither have I." Henry leaned back from the body, looking it over one more time as he tried to make sense of what lay in front of him.

As he had predicted, the cause of death was the shock the man had experienced when he had been burned. What was the most intriguing was the fact that the top layer of tissue from his heart was slightly singed, leaving some scar tissue. In all his years of studying burns, never had one reached so deep into the body.

He scanned his eyes across the figure one more time before, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Jo approach the table. He looked up at her, blinking twice to break himself from his thoughts.

“Hey, got anything?” She asked, meeting his gaze.

Henry drew in a deep breath. “Less than I would have hoped.” He admitted. He turned his attention back to the body, hovering a hand over the victim’s open chest. “The cause of death was the shock that he experienced when his body had been burned. However, the burn above his heart extended so far down, it damaged the top layer of the organ.” 

He reached for the victim’s right arm, holding it up to show her. “The burn on his arm is of the first degree, so it was likely inflicted seconds before he perished. The burn is in the shape of a handprint, making it seem like it was the hand itself that burned him.” He placed the arm back down gently. He then gestured back to the victim.

“However, the burn inflicted on his chest was of the third degree; the second to worst kind.” He stood up straighter, and, noting that he was about to lecture, Jo got comfortable as he began his lesson.

“Third degree burns reach below the dermis, the second layer of skin, and inflicts damage to the subcutaneous, or the bottom layer of skin." Henry began, talking with his hands. "However, this burn is particularly interesting because it not only reached past the tissue but it reached so deep within our victim’s chest that it _physically_ charred the tip of his heart.” He looked up to Jo, putting on a fascinated half smile. “In all my years, I have never seen any burn of this magnitude. Fourth degree burns could result in his death, but certainly not third degree burns.” He paused, the room growing strangely quiet. He cut in again after a few seconds, meeting Jo’s gaze again. “Does he have a name?”

“‘Yep.” Jo answered back. “John Maxwell, age 36. He commuted to the city for work from Jersey, but he has a wife who lives in Brooklyn, Harriet.” She raised an eyebrow. “Feel like paying her a visit?”

“Of course.” Henry nodded back. “Just let me finish up here.” He gave a smile and, with that, Jo nodded, saying that she’d meet him downstairs. As she left, Henry cast his gaze back down towards the body.

_Expertly burned_...he thought to himself, _That’s how I would describe this._

As he removed his gloves, holding his gaze, he cast his glance over to Lucas, who was finishing up the rest of the notes.

“Lucas.” He sharply whispered his assistant's name, which caused him to look up at him his eyebrows raising.

“Yeah, doc?” He curiously asked.

“This man was burned with very sharp precision.” He began to explain, keeping his voice down. He wasn’t sure how what he said next would sit with Lucas, but he had to give it a shot. “The way I’ve been studying it...I believe this is the work of aura.” 

_Aura..._ Lucas thought to himself. He had heard Henry speak about that a handful of times before, so he understood the basics of it, but he didn’t think that he’d actually use it describe how a man died. “So...” He began, unsure how to proceed.

“Yes, Lucas.” He nodded in the direction of the body. “It seems as if there is another aura user out there.”


End file.
